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3-D remodeling on a budget

By Paul Bianchina, Thursday, December 30, 2010.

For most people, sometimes even experienced designers and contractors, the toughest part of a remodeling project is visualizing what the space is going to look like afterward. A set of plans is a great first step, of course, but they often don't give you the three-dimensional perspective you need to really see the room and experience perspectives, traffic patterns, light, and all the rest.

So, once the demolition is complete and the room is bare, do some simple experimenting. This should occur before anything goes back in, including wiring, plumbing and drywall, since this is your one opportunity to make changes in the original plans if you catch something you don't like.  more...

'One size fits all' fee for rental damage?

By Robert Griswold, Thursday, December 30, 2010.

Q: The couple renting my home moved out last month, and their 3-year-old destroyed the mini-blinds. Is that considered normal or routine? The carpet is also damaged beyond any good cleaning.

Both blinds and carpet were new in 1999. I lived in the rental for the first six years, and it was rented to a second tenant for one year after that. The most recent couple moved in at the beginning of 2006 so they had been renting the home for nearly five years. What is reasonable to charge them for the mini-blinds and carpet?

I have heard that some landlords just have set schedules for charges or deductions from security deposits. I would like to know your opinion on the pros and cons of that practice.  more...

Top homebuying, selling predictions for 2011

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, December 30, 2010.

During this first holiday season on the road leading out of the recession, American consumers are taking different approaches in their decision-making.

Black Friday brought the requisite, shameful Web videos of elders being trampled in the stampede for a Pillow Pet or a $3 toaster, and Cyber Monday upped the stakes in an entirely different sort of consumer game, driven in large part by the flash-sale websites that have literally exploded in number and popularity this year.

On the other end of the spectrum, many celebrated "Buy Nothing Day." Others engaged in some of both; I bought usable gifts for kids only, and donated or sold 200 items of clothing, books and furniture for the holidays.

Even retailers capitalized on the dichotomy, with one luxury automaker promoting a "Season of Reason" sales event in which buyers were invited to "oversave" for gifts and personal purchases by spending $50,000 or more on a new car (irony, anyone?).  more...

Shadow inventory double whammy in 2011?

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.
Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kretyen/2664221864/" target=blank>kretyen</a>.

As much as the housing industry wishes foreclosures would go away -- or at least be reduced to a predictable, manageable flow -- there are no signs of that happening in the near future.

The volume of foreclosures also has hidden the nation's shadow inventory, which I will define as the homes that sellers would put on the market if there were not so much competition.

(Some analysts also apply the term "shadow inventory" to estimates of the total number of distressed properties that will ultimately complete the foreclosure process to be sold at courthouse auctions or repossessed by lenders. Others define shadow inventory more narrowly as homes that lenders have already repossessed, but not yet put up for sale.)

Together, the stubborn reality of foreclosures and shadow inventory combine to be the elephant in the room, and the most important real estate story of 2010.  more...

8 ways agents avoid overpriced listings Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joiseyshowaa/4471876953/">joiseyshowaa</a>

You did the comps, the property was priced right when you listed it, but no one is buying. It's now six months later, prices have declined even more, and your listing is now overpriced. What could you have done to avoid being in this predicament in the first place?

No matter how good you are at pricing, there are times when you'll get stuck with an overpriced listing. The best way to avoid having an overpriced listing is to take proactive steps at the time you sign the listing agreement.

1. Executive review

This strategy works well at the time you list the property or any time during the listing period. During an executive review, your manager and a team of three or four other agents visits the property before it officially goes on the market. Each member of the executive review team provides a written evaluation of the property including strengths, weaknesses, as well as anticipated selling price. This written feedback is then given to the listing agent to assist the seller in correctly pricing the property.  more...

5 surprising facts about HOA defaults

By Mary Umberger, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.

These are not happy days for homeowners associations.

Foreclosures, job losses and the general economic downturn have put the squeeze on the books of a sizeable number of the nation's estimated 310,000 homeowners associations as residents and the banks that have seized homes stop paying their monthly assessments, according to a recent study.

Five things to know about how these community groups have been affected by the economy, and some things they're doing to fight back:

1. About 45 percent of HOA managers say their groups are facing "serious" problems as a result of the economic downturn, and 9 percent describe their situations as "severe," according to the Community Associations Institute, a trade group in Washington, D.C.  more...

3 unsustainable trends looming large Premium Content

By Lou Barnes, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidden/2205322601/">DavidDennisPhotos.com</a>

While looking into each new year, I recite the mantra of this blog's patron saint, Peter Drucker: "Nobody can predict the future. The idea is to keep a firm grasp of the present."

The present today is more slippery to evaluate than usual for an odd reason: It is so similar to the turn of last year. Hardly anything has changed.

Interest rates are the same, near 5 percent for mortgages, near 3.5 percent for 10-year Treasurys, both expected to rise last year as now.

The lack of employment is the same, and so the dearth of tax revenue. The economy was then expected to accelerate in a recovery assumed to be under way, making the Fed's QE1 and home-purchase tax credits unnecessary, both to expire in spring 2010.  more...

Rethink bridge loan to retirement

By Benny Kass, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.

DEAR BENNY: My wife and I are selling our house and moving to a retirement community, which also has assisted living facilities. We have an offer coming this next week. This is the only offer we have had in the three months the house has been on the market. We have put a contract on an apartment in the retirement facility.

Presuming we can reach agreement with our buyer and sign the contract and get a settlement date, the retirement facility wants us to take out a bridge loan for the buy-in fee (about $300,000). Our concern is whether anything could go wrong before settlement. We feel we would be more comfortable waiting until we have the cash in hand.

Are we being overly fearful? We are told that it is a normal procedure to take out the bridge loan, as the earnest deposit guarantees that the settlement will go through. Is this true? We trust our seller's agent but feel the buyer's agent is dragging her feet. Should we have a real estate lawyer too? If so, how do we find one? --John  more...

Beware of home inspection red flag

By Barry Stone, Wednesday, December 29, 2010.
Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rightee/36319234/in/photostream/" target=blank>rightee</a>.

DEAR BARRY: When I bought my home, I hired a home inspector recommended by my Realtor. After the inspection, the report was sent to my Realtor, but no copy was ever given to me. I asked for it repeatedly, but she stalled me until the end of the transaction. When I asked the inspector, he told me to get a copy from the agent. So I closed escrow without ever seeing it.

After moving in, there were lots of undisclosed problems, such as kitchen appliances that did not work. Finally, I hired another home inspector, and he found problems with the foundation. Since then, the agent refuses to answer my phone calls. What should I do? --Gloria  more...

Top 10 tech trends of 2010

By Tom Flanagan, Tuesday, December 28, 2010.
Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/5004847441/" target=blank>quinn.anya</a>.

It's that time of year again -- dust off the flux capacitor, jump into the DeLorean time machine and let's revisit the cool tech trends affecting real estate this past year!

The tech industry had a fascinating year. An Apple engineer caused quite the stir when he left a top-secret prototype of the iPhone 4 in a bar. The drama of the iPhone 4 leak unfolded like juicy, celebrity tabloid gossip and was the buzz on social networking sites.

Facebook continued its dominance in the social space and made the leap from the small screen to the big one. "The Social Network," starring Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerman, premiered on Oct. 1 and has grossed more than $192 million worldwide.

Some interesting technology trends unfolded in real estate as well. The industry saw its share of cutting-edge products, gadgets and apps. It seems that every year, a new product is chasing the elusive "lifestyle search" and there were a bunch of neighborhood and lifestyle applications released.  more...

Need-to-knows before you buy

By Dian Hymer, Tuesday, December 28, 2010.

There are obvious decisions that need to be made before embarking on a home purchase. How much can you afford to pay? How much do you feel comfortable paying? Which neighborhoods offer the kinds of homes and amenities -- like good schools, shops and transportation nearby -- that you want? How secure is your employment? Do you have enough cash reserves for emergencies?

In addition to these practical considerations, you should find out as much as possible about the local area. Does it have a strong and diversified economic base? Is employment improving or are employers laying workers off? Are businesses moving into or out of the area?

Are new facilities planned that will impact the community, like a freeway that might change the character of a neighborhood by creating unwanted noise. This could negatively impact property values.  more...

Know when to withdraw a purchase offer

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Tuesday, December 28, 2010.

Q: If I put in an offer on a house with a real estate agent and the seller doesn't give me an answer in five days, can I pull the offer off the table? --Ron

A: You're looking for my opinion, so you've likely been reading this column long enough to know me. So, as always, first I'm going to give you the answer to the question you asked -- the question of whether you "can" take your offer off the table. Then I'm going to give you the need-to-knows to help you make the right decision for your situation on the question you didn't ask: the question of whether you "should" take back or rescind your offer. Buckle up.

We often think of real estate as a super-special field of rules and arcane practices of its own, but in many ways, what buyers and sellers can and cannot do is governed by traditional guidelines of contract law. This is especially so when it comes to the rules of contract formation.  more...

If it's not working, axe it Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Tuesday, December 28, 2010.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kozumel/2977363615/" target=blank>kozumel</a>

What are your New Year's resolutions for 2011? If one of your resolutions is to make more money, a great place to begin is by expanding what is working and by dumping any activity that is losing money.

There are two ways to make money: You can earn more or you can spend less. The easiest way to earn more is to expand your existing profit centers. For example, if you have a successful farm area, expand into a neighboring area. If you regularly convert Internet leads, expand the scope of your website or drive more traffic using pay-per-clicks. If you like representing first-time buyers, spend more time prospecting rental housing. The key point is to build on your strengths.

While many agents focus on earning more, few focus on eliminating non-revenue-producing activities. In some cases, market conditions change. What was profitable yesterday may be a money-waster today.

A major part of the challenge is that most agents fail to track where their leads originate. Unless you track how much money each of your prospecting activities generates, you will find it difficult to recognize what really works and what is a waste of money.  more...

8 tips to lower your heating bills

By Paul Bianchina, Tuesday, December 28, 2010.

Q: We received our heating bill (gas) today in the amount of $266.74. We keep our thermostat set on 70 degrees during the winter and turn it down to 60 degrees at night. When we leave for any period of time during the day, my husband turns it down to 60 degrees.

My friend has a two-story house and keeps her thermostat set at 66 degrees during the winter. Her gas bill is much lower than ours. What might we be doing incorrectly? We have a fairly new energy-efficient heating system, the filters are changed, and the system is cleaned. --Ruth A.

A: There are lots of factors that can affect the difference in heating costs between two homes, including insulation levels, the efficiency of the windows, the amount of weatherstripping, how much air leaks into and out of the house, even how often you open and close exterior doors.  more...

Don't call it a comeback

By Steve Bergsman, Tuesday, December 28, 2010.
Flickr image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/exalthim/2150120249/" target=blank>Mr.Thomas</a>.

Sometimes, news reports are so unusually odd that it is just plain hard to accept face value. Now, I'm not talking about three-headed frogs or anything like that, but straight-forward economic news. Take the case of the recent news release from the Miami Association of Realtors that reported existing condominium sales in August spiked 59 percent compared to August 2009 and a walloping 77 percent versus August 2008.

Those were such outstanding numbers that I gave a call to my two best sources in South Florida to see what was up.

"It's a combination of reduction in inventory and repricing," said Peter Zalewksi, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla., consulting firm Condo Vultures LLC. "Remember when gas was $1.75 a gallon and then shot to $4. Now it is $2.50 a gallon and it looks like a pretty good deal. People now know what real pricing is for Miami condos and are starting to buy again."  more...

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